Tuesday, 3 October 2017

Millionaire Vegas gunman who killed 59 people and hurt 527- biography

The man who shot dead 59 people and injured 527 others inLas Vegason Sunday night was a multimillionaire who took a huge arsenal of 23 guns into his Mandalay Bay hotel room, which he transformed into an elaborate sniper's nest before opening fire on a country music festival.

Stephen Paddock, 64, had made millions from real estate deals, according to his brother; he also owned two planes and several properties across the US, and seemed normal apart from his passion for gambling large sums.

But he'd also secretly amassed a massive arsenal of 42 firearms. At least one of those was automatic, while another two had been modified with legal bump-stock devices that allows semi-automatic guns to give full-auto fire of up to 800 rounds a minute. Several had scopes, and packed military-grade ammunition.

He took 23 of those guns into his Mandalay Bay suite over several days and set up two rifles on tripods at windows overlooking the Route 91 Harvest country music festival.

Thousands of rounds of ammunition were also found in the suite, enabling him to fire repeatedly over the course of 72 minutes. His car had several pounds of a fertilizer used in bomb-making.

He also set up a camera in his room, apparently to film the mass murder, and others in the hallway to capture police arriving. Before carrying out the shooting, he used a hammer-like tool to smash out two window in his room which he used to fire out of.

Paddock had lived in 27 residences in Nevada, Florida and Texas as an adult, but other than that he had apparently lived a quiet and unremarkable life - and the reason for the most deadly assault in American history remains a mystery.

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Stephen Paddock, 64, turned his luxury Las Vegas hotel suite into a sniper's nest on Sunday by smashing open two windows on the hotel's corner and setting up two guns on tripods before opening fire on the Route 91 Harvest music festival below

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Paddock (seen here in an undated photo) made a fortune in real estate, his brother said. He seemed an unremarkable man, aside from a heavy gambling habit - and didn't even have a traffic violation on his Nevada criminal record

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Four DDM4 rifles - made by Daniel Defense - were among the 23 weapons found in Paddock's hotel room by the SWAT team after they busted in. They sell for around $1,700

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Also in his terrifying arsenal were three of these FN-15 rifles, as well as guns made by Sig Sauer. Some of the semi-automatic guns had been fitted with bump-stocks that allow for, essentially, fully automatic fire. They're priced around $1,300

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An AK-47 was also found in the room with the other weapons. AKs can come with fully automatic fire functions, but it's not known if that was the case here. AKs vary in price depending on the manufacturer, but cost around $1,000

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A Colt AR-15 was also found in the room. Such weapons are semi-automatic when bought legally and cost around $1,000. At least one full-auto weapon was found, but it's not known if it was modified or had that function when manufactured

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Inside the nest: The smashed windows from the suite taken out by Paddock at the Mandalay Hotel in Las Vegas

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A woman cries while hiding inside the Sands Corporation plane hangar after the mass shooting on Sunday

SWAT and FBI at Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock's Reno home

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The retired accountant had worked as an internal auditor at Lockheed Martin for three years in the late 1980s, and was a manager and investor in apartment complexes located in Mesquite, Texas and California, which made him millions, his brother said, according to theLas Vegas Sun.

Local police said they had no run-ins with the man, not even traffic violations, and his brother described him as 'just a guy who lived in Mesquite who drove down and gambled in Las Vegas and... liked burritos'.

So the discovery that he had used 10 suitcases to methodically move an arsenal up into his Mandalay Bay room over the preceding weekend came as a shock to those who knew him.

Eric Paddock said he thought his brother was far from a gun fanatic.

'He had a couple of guns but they were all handgun, legal... he might have had one long gun, but he had them in a safe,' he said.

He said he didn't know about the 23 guns that were found in the hotel room.

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Why Paddock (pictured with girlfriend Marilou Danley, 62) shot up the crowd is unknown. He had no religious or political affiliations, no military background, and was known to have just a couple of handguns, his brother said

A law enforcement source told the Wall Street Journal that they found at least one fully automatic rifle among the batch, which included AR-15-style rifles and AK-47-style rifles.

And it later emerged that two other semi-auto guns had been legally modified with bump-stocks that allow them to function like fully automatic rifles, pumping out 400-800 bullets a minute.

Bump-stocks replace the gun's shoulder rest with a 'support step' that covers the trigger opening. By holding the pistol grip with one hand and pushing forward on the barrel with the other, the shooter's finger comes in contact with the trigger.

The recoil then causes the gun to buck back and forth, 'bumping' the trigger and firing off multiple shots. But because the finger is technically pulling the trigger each time, it still counts as a semi-auto weapon.

Still others could have been properly converted into fully automatic fire, theLA Timesreported.

Among the weapons found in the room were four Daniel Defense DDM4 rifles, three FN-15s and other rifles made by Sig Sauer. A handgun was also found.

Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo said on Monday it wasn't clear whether the full-auto gun was modified, or if it was originally made that way.

He also said that the ammunition ranged in size from .308, usually used in hunting rifles, to .223, associated with AR-15s and other assault rifles - the latter being military-grade, theNew York Daily Newsreported.

Eric said the revelation of his brother's deadly plan, which saw thousands of rounds falling on a crowd of 22,000 people at a music festival below, was as unexpected as seeing a meteor suddenly landing on his street.

The shocks only grew in number Monday as police raided two of Paddock's properties.

The first was his Mesquite home in a sleepy retirement community, which he purchased for just over $369,000 in 2015 according to public records.

What they found was a second arsenal, even bigger than the one in the Mandalay Bay room.

Some 19 additional firearms were in the house, along with the explosive Tannerite - which is used to make explosive targets for target practice - and several thousand rounds of ammunition, Lombardo said Monday.

He added that electronic devices were also found, but that they are still being examined to determine their purpose.

Photos of the property showed the garage door torn off its hinge and crumpled after the search.

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Above, the view from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel, in an updated photo. The concert was taking place diagonally across the street, where the stage is seen, with its green roof.

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Investigators load bodies from the scene of the mass shooting on Monday; the mass shooting that occurred on Sunday is the deadliest in American history

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Home: Paddock, 64, lived just 90 minutes outside Las Vegas in the city of Mesquite (above circled in red), where he bough a home in a retirement community back in 2015. The home was raided on Monday by police

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He lived at the $400,000 property (pictured with crumpled garage door after police raid) with Danley. The home is in a quiet retirement community in which residents must be over 55. Cops found 19 guns there, plus explosives

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Later on Monday, the FBI, SWAT and ATF raided another home owned by Paddock, based in Reno. Police have not yet revealed what - if anything - was found at the location

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Bomb experts were included in the SWAT deployment due to the fear that Paddock may have left booby traps at the home. Explosives had been found in his Mesquite house, and fertilizer used in bomb-making found in his car in Las Vegas

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Police block the roads leading to the Mandalay Hotel (which is in the background) and inspect the site after the deadly attack in Las Vegas

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A general view of the scene after the slaughter in Vegas. The Route 91 Harvest stage can be clearly seen to the right

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Police block the roads leading to the Mandalay Hotel, where mass murderer Stephen Paddock fired on thousands of people

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Hundreds of people gather for a vigil on the Las Vegas strip for the victims of the Route 91 Harvest country music festival massacre

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Student mourners console each other during a candlelight vigil at the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) for victims of a mass shooting

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Hundreds of people, young and old, take candles to a vigil in Las Vegas after the devastating mass shooting which left dozens dead

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Mourners pay tribute at a makeshift memorial consisting of dozens of candles on the Las Vegas Strip

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A single white rose is illuminated by dozens of candles at a makeshift memorial on the Las Vegas Strip

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Mourners pay tribute at a makeshift memorial on the Las Vegas Strip for the victims of a mass shooting in Las Vegas

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The door to the Reno home was broken open to aid entry, but police sent in this robot first, to ensure that any explosive devices inside would not threaten police. Electronic devices were found in the other home; they are being analyzed

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A police officer takes cover behind a police vehicle during the shooting near the Mandalay Bay resort and casino (left); people take cover at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival (right)

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Police on guard on the streets outside the Mandalay Bay. The shooter died inside the hotel

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Fifty-nine people are dead and 527 have been left injured after the Sunday shooting at the Las Vegas music festival

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Three people lie on the ground, one covered in blood, after the shooting at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival on Sunday

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On some days Paddock spent more than $30,000, and on others more than $20,000, according to an individual who had seen Paddock's Multiple Currency Transaction Reports. Pictured: The scene of the nightmare in Vegas

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A man lies on top of a woman as others flee the music festival grounds. She appears to be alive and moving

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Images of the Mandalay Bay Resort show two windows blown out on the 32nd floor of the building (above) that Paddock smashed out so he could shoot crowds from two locations

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This is one of the Mandalay Bay Resort corner rooms (above), which is similar to the one from which the gunman launched his attack

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Paddock checked into the hotel on Thursday, September 28, using his girlfriend's ID according to sources. He then smuggled 23 guns up into the room in 10 suitcases over the next few days

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The damaged windows on the 32nd floor room that was used by the shooter at the Mandalay Hotel

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Donald Trump is seen here holding a moment of silence for the slain people on the South Lawn of the White House. He denounced the violence as 'evil' and offered his 'warmest condolences' to the families of the victims

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The usually colorful lights on New York's Empire State Building (left) were turned off on Monday night in recognition of the atrocity. In Paris, France, lights were switched off on the Eiffel Tower (right) in respect for the victims

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Jonathan Neighbors, 15, of Botetourt County, Virginia, adds light to one of the 59 luminaries on the front steps of Greene Memorial United Methodist Church in Las Vegas on Monday, in recognition of those slain

Paddock lived in Mesquite with his 62-year-old girlfriend Marilou Danley. She was initially named a person of interest in the shooting, because she appeared to have checked into the hotel with him.

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Danley is currently in Tokyo. Police do not suspect her to be an accomplice, but will interview her on her return to the US

But when police called her, they found out she has been out of the country and that Paddock had used her ID to check into the hotel.

They no longer believe she had anything to do with the massacre, but plan to interview her when she returns to the US.

A friend told the Reno Gazette-Journal that Danley is in the Phillipines, but Lombardo said Monday afternoon she is believed to be in Tokyo, Japan.

In his private life, Paddock enjoyed country shows on the Las Vegas Strip - such as the one he eventually attacked.

Paddock's time in Las Vegas wasn't totally without event, however; in 2012 he filed a lawsuit against Cosmopolitan Hotels & Resorts following an incident that occurred at their Las Vegas casino.

Paddock spent two years in court fighting his case after submitting his initial complaint citing 'Negligence - Premises Liability.'

It was ultimately dismissed with prejudice in late 2014, and exact details of the case were not available on the Clark County Courts website.

Paddock was also the son of Benjamin Hoskins Paddock, a serial bank robber who ended up on the FBI Most Wanted list back in 1969 when he escaped from federal prison in Texas while serving a 20 years sentence.

The FBI kept him on the list for the next eight years, and he was eventually found one year after he was removed from the list in 1978 while outside an Oregon Bingo hall.

The agency said that the fugitive had been 'diagnosed as psychopathic' and also had possible 'suicidal tendencies.'

Las Vegas shooting was an 'act of pure evil': Donald Trump

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Dad: Paddock's father was a serial bank robber who was 'diagnosed as psychopathic' and spent eight years on the FBI Most Wanted list after escaping prison (Benjamin Paddock's FBI flyer above)

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Stephen Craig Paddock pictured (in the middle of the back row) as a junior in 1970. He went to John H. Francis Polytechnic High School in Sun Valley, California. He is shown posing for the tennis team. Forty-seven years later, he committed a massacre in Las Vegas

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Christopher Sullivan, general manager of Guns & Guitars in Mesquite, Nevada, told the New York Times that he sold Paddock a handgun and two rifles. He said Paddock had passed standard federal screening checks, and seemed like 'a normal fellow'

Paddock had committed suicide by the time police breached the door to his room on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort just after 10pm on Sunday night.

The attack played out as Jason Aldean performed on stage to close out the third and final day of the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival, which was taking place across the street from the resort.

Over 22,000 people were in attendance at the event, and described the attack as 'nonstop gunfire,' which only stopped when Paddock went to reload his weapon.

Police said in a press conference early Monday that that Paddock's death was the result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

During the chaos, claims of multiple shooters, bombings and suspicious cars circulated, but police said they were only rumors.

The first shooting victims have been identified after 59 people were killed when a gunman opened fire at a music festival in Las Vegas on Sunday in what has become the deadliest mass shooting in American history.

Another 515 people were injured in what is now the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.

Melton's wife, Heather, a surgeon, was with him watching Jason Aldean at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas. She said her brave and selfless husband died protecting her.

'He saved my life. He grabbed me and started running when I felt him get shot in the back,' she told WSMV. 'I want everyone to know what a kind-hearted, loving man he was, but at this point, I can barely breathe.'

The couple lived in Big Sandy, Tennessee, where Melton worked as a registered nurse in an emergency room and ICU at Henry County Medical Center.

His wife works at the hospital and he aided her in the operating room. They married in 2016.

'We were the couple that never should have met, fallen in love or had a future together....but life is funny and we believe God brought us together as soul mates,' read their wedding page on The Knot.

'We have shared amazing times together and nearly unbearable heartaches but through it all we have grown stronger in our love for each other and our families.'

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Heather Melton, left, says her husband Sonny, right, saved her life as gunfire rang out at the Route 91 Harvest Festival on Sunday. He was shot in the back and died, while Heather survived

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Denise Salmon Burditus, 50, was among the 59 people murdered at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas on Sunday. She is seen with husband Tony Burditus at the festival in a photo posted to Facebook around 9.30pm PDT - minutes before the gunman opened fire

Mother-of-two and kindergarten teacher Jenny Parks, of Lancaster, LA in California, was also killed in the carnage.

Her aunt, Rhonda Boyle, wrote on Facebook: 'It's a sad day for me and my family my niece was murdered killed by that SOB in Los Vegas. Please pray for me and my family, she was a sweet woman... and a good mother.'

She leaves behind her husband Bobby Parks, 39, and their two kids.

Denise Salmon Burditus, 50, of Martinsburg, West Virginia, reportedly died in the arms of her husband of 32 years, Tony Burditus, just minutes after posting a picture of themselves at the festival.

Burditus, a semi-retired grandmother and mom, according to Facebook, regularly posted loving posts about her husband Tony, who was her high school sweetheart from Hedgesville High School. The couple had moved around a lot, according to friends, but had recently returned to Martinsburg to settle down.

Her friend Jeanette McNally said she was in 'complete shock and grief' at her pal's death.

'Beautiful Denise Salmon Burditus life was taken during the attack on Las Vegas,' she wrote. 'What a loss.

'I'm just praying for comfort for their shattered hearts. Her family...Her adoring husband...Her beautiful children and grandbabies...Her friends whom she loved like family.'

Gallup-McKinley County School confirmed that Romero, a secretary at Miyamura High School, in New Mexico, was also among the dead. Superintendent Mike Hyatt sent out an email to district staffers, saying 'our prayers go out to her family during this tragic time.'

Adrian Murfitt, from Anchorage, also died at the concert, according to his friend Brian MacKinnon, who attended the festival with him.

MacKinnon told KTUU that Murfitt was 'one of the happiest people I know' and that the 'wrong person' had died.

Susan Smith, 53, an office manager for the Simi Valley Unified School District since 2001, was also killed, a spokeswoman for the district confirmed. Smith was said to be a big country music fan and was the 'hub' and 'heart' of Vista Elementary School, where she worked for three years.

'She was wonderful. She had a great sense of humor. She's patient and kind,' spokesman Jake Finch told the Ventura County Star.

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Mom-of-four Jessica Klymchuk (left) and Quinton Robbins, 20, (right) are among the 59 people who were gunned down and killed during the mass shooting at a Las Vegas music festival last night

Vista PTA released a statement which read: 'Our hearts are full of sorrow for the passing of Susan Smith. She was a wonderful woman, an advocate for our children, and a friend.'

Rhonda LeRocque, a minister's wife, from Tewksbury, Massachusetts, had been at the concert with her six-year-old daughter, father-in-law and husband of 20 years, Jason. Her father-in-law had just taken LeRocque's daughter home when the gunfire began.

LeRocque died instantly after being shot in the back of the head.

Her devastated family told Boston 25 News that she was a country music lover, who loved her family and dreamed of owning her own company one day. She was 'close to perfection as you can get,' they said.

Fellow victim John Phippen, of Santa Clarita, California, was at the concert with his son Travis - a medic - when he was shot dead.

Travis, who was shot in the arm, was able to patch up at least 14 others at the scene, but tragically wasn't able to save his own father.

John, who owned remodeling and repair company JP Specialties, in Clarita, was remembered by friends as a 'good man' and an 'amazing soul' who would often like to sing as he worked.

He had a 'smile that would light up a room,' friend Thomas Polucki told KHTS . 'He will be missed.'

Two Canadians were among the dozens killed in the mass shooting McIldoon, 23, of Maple Ridge, British Columbia, and Klymchuk, a mother-of-four, visiting Vegas with her fiance from Edmonton.

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Jordan McIlldoon (left) and Lisa Romero (right) are reportedly among the 59 people who lost their lives during the mass shooting

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Adrian Murfitt, 35, (left) was confirmed dead by a close friend, while married mother-of-two, and kindergarten teacher Jenny Parks (right) was also killed in the carnage

Klymchuk was a librarian and school bus driver at St. Stephen's School in Valleyview, Canada. Superintendent Betty Turpin, of the Holy Family Catholic Regional Division, passed on her condolences to the family for the 'unimaginable attack'.

Premier of Alberta, Rachel Notley, added on Twitter: 'Our hearts go out to the loved ones of Jessica Klymchuk, an Albertan who was killed in the Las Vegas attack. We are so sorry for your loss.'

McIldoon, 23, was attending the festival with his girlfriend, his parents told CBC, when he was gunned down.

Fellow festival goer Heather Gooze of Spring Valley, Nevada spread word of his death on Facebook.

'Friends and family, I am OK. I am right outside of the festival grounds. We are not allowed to go anywhere,' Gooze wrote Monday morning.

'I am with a young man who died in my arms! RIP Jordan McIldoon from British Columbia. I can't believe this just happened!!!'

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Susan Smith, (left) an office manager for the Simi Valley Unified School District since 2001, and Dana Gardner (right) who worked for the County of San Bernardino

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Rhonda LeRocque (left) a minister's wife, from Tewksbury, Massachusetts, died instantly after being shot in the back of the head. Fellow victim John Phippen, (right) of Santa Clarita, California, was at the concert with his son Travis - a medic - but tragically Travis wasn't able to save his own father

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Bailey Schweitzer, Bakersfield, California, was the 13th Vegas mass shooting victim to be identified on social media

McIldoon's parents, who are flying down to Las Vegas, said he was a heavy-duty mechanic's apprentice and was soon to attend trade school.

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'He's just a guy who lived in Mesquite who liked burritos,' said Eric Paddock (above) of his brother, whom he noted had no 'political' or 'religious' ties

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Paddock managed an apartment complex in Mesquite, Texas (above). He had made much of his money through real estate investments, and further cash gambling

Danley, who was identified as Paddock's girlfriend, was married in 1990 to Geary Danley. There is no record of a divorce between the two, while Paddock divorced his wife 27 years ago.

Peggy Paddock, 63, lives in a two-story townhouse in Cerritos, about 30 mies south east of Los Angeles, where she stayed inside on Monday, too stunned to talk about the Vegas horror.

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Paddock was married to Peggy (above) for six years before the two divorced 27 years ago

Outside her home, Los Angeles Sheriff's Sgt. Cort Bishop told DailyMail.com that Peggy was married to Stephen for six years but divorced him 27 years ago.

'She is as shocked and surprised as everybody else by what happened in Vegas,' he said, adding that she has no children with her ex and 'has had no contact with him for many years.'

Sgt. Bishop added that Peggy has been in a relationship with her current boyfriend for 20 years and that he did not know why she kept her ex-husband's name after the divorce.

Paddock married Peggy after the collapse of his first marriage to Sharon Brunoehler, who he was married to in the 1970s and 80s while living in California.

Paddock used Danley's ID when he checked himself into the hotel according to a source with knowledge of the investigation, despite the fact that she was not with him during his stay.

Paddock and Danley live in a upscale community that includes an 18-hole golf course, indoor and outdoor swimming pools and a recreation center with gym.

Danley is a nice woman who baked cookies for her mother-in-law ,said Eric, who conducted the interview outside his Florida home.

Residents must be over the age of 55 and no children are allowed to live in the development of over 1,000 homes.

TIMELINE OF TERROR IN VEGAS:

Country music star Jason Aldean was performing on stage at the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival when lone gunman Stephen Paddock, 64, opened fire on the 22,000 people gathered.

About 10pm:Paddock smashes out two windows on the 32nd floor with a hammer-like implement and opens fire with his arsenal of at least 19 weapons - including fully automatic weapons.

10.08pm:First phone call to police that shots had been fired at the festival outside the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip.

10.38pm:Police in Las Vegas say that they are 'investigating reports of an active shooter' near to the Mandalay Bay.

11.08pm:Las Vegas police confirm they have shut down a portion of The Strip

11.20pm:SWAT teams storm the 32nd floor room that Stephen Paddock was firing from. They gained entry using flashbangs designed to stun the shooter. Paddock fired through the door as SWAT teams were trying to breach the room. By the time they entered the room, he had shot himself dead. Seventy-two minutes elapsed from the first 911 call to Paddock being found dead.

11.20pm:Hundreds of people began being transported to hospitals in Las Vegas

11.32pm:McCarran International Airport announced it was diverting flights destined for the city.

11.34pm:Interstate 15 in and out of Las Vegas was shut down for a time.

11.56pm:Hospitals in Las Vegas said that at least two people were dead and 24 were injured of which 12 were critical.

12.01am:Almost two hours after the first emergency call police confirmed that one suspect was 'down'.

1.06am:The Southern California police department say that one of their officers is among the injured.

1.34am:At this point the death toll dramatic rises to 20 people injured and 100 injured.

1.54am:Police in Las Vegas says that two of their officers who were off-duty were among the dead.

2.13am:Investigators say that they are looking for the 'roommate' of the shooter - Marilou Danley and describe her as a person of interest.

3.30am:Las Vegas Sheriff Joseph Lombardo announces that the death toll is now at least 50 dead and 200 injured - making this the deadliest shooting in US history

6.30am:Investigators say they have located Marilou Danley and say that she is overseas and is not longer a person of interest.

9.30am:Sheriff provides another update and says that the death toll is now in excess of 59 and that 527 people are injured.

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Paddock had no criminal record in the state of Nevada and officials said at a press conference early Monday that they are still looking into his possible motive (law enforcement arriving on the scene of the shooting Sunday night)

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Police officers with shotguns and machine guns advised people to take cover near the scene of a shooting near the Mandalay Bay resort

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Police officers stand along the Las Vegas Strip the Mandalay Bay resort and casino during a shooting near the casino, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017, in Las Vegas

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This was the scene at the music festival before the assassin opened fire on the crowds of as many as 30,000 people

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Debris is strewn through the scene of a mass shooting at a music festival near the Mandalay Bay resort and casino on the Las Vegas Strip, Monday, Oct. 2, 2017, in Las Vegas

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Las Vegas police sweep through a convention center area during a lockdown Monday, Oct. 2, 2017, at the Tropicana Las Vegas following an active shooter situation on the Las Vegas Strip

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Former community: Paddock owned a home in a Florida retirement community (above) for two years between 2013 and 2015, but only visited a handful of times. Neighbors said he told them he stayed up at night playing online poker

In addition to his pricey Nevada property, Paddock was also the owner of two planes, and according to the FAA records was certified as a private pilot back in 2003.

His address on that 2003 certification is listed as Mesquite, Texas, where he lived for in a $200,000 home for 12 years from 1998 to 2010.

However, records do not show him owning or living at any home between 2010 and 2012, when he moved to Reno after two decades in Texas.

Luius Wiedemann, the husband of Stephen's niece, Nicole, also commented on the attack, posting his thoughts on Facebook Monday morning.

'I really don't know what to say here. We've known Stephen Paddock for years. He was my wife's uncle who we saw once every few years at family gatherings,' wrote Wiedemann.

'We have no clue, none whatsoever, on why he would do such a thing. We don't know anything more than what the LVMPD knows about Stephen. In fact it's been more than a year since we've been in contact with him.

'We are still trying to process the information coming our way and field all of the media that have been knocking/messaging/calling us non stop.

'We ask that you grant us some privacy while we digest the fact that this happened and more so that a member of our family was involved.'

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Paddock purchased a parcel of land in Reno back in 2012 that he sold earlier this year (above) after putting a house on the property. One of his Reno properties was also raided by cops on Monday

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The same year he bought the parcel of land, Paddock also bought an apartment in Reno (building seen above)

He went on to write: 'I implore everyone arguing online to turn off the screen and hug your loved ones as much as possible today. No amount of bickering online will bring these folks back to their families and loved ones.'

Wiedemann then closed out his post by saying: 'Again, I cannot express how truly awful we feel for everyone involved. Our hearts go out to the families who lost their loved ones and to those injured in this unimaginable tragedy.'

Nicole later posted her own response to the attack on her Facebook account.

'First off I want to express my deepest sympathies to everyone affected by this massacre, I am as shocked and appalled as anyone about this senseless act of violence,' wrote Nicole.

'It has been especially disheartening to find out that the perpetrator is a relative. Stephen Paddock was my uncle, but I did not know very much about him.

'Sometimes I would see him in Las Vegas when I was there visiting other family, but these encounters were casual and infrequent.

'It has been well over a year since I have had any contact with him. I cannot speak to what possibly motivates someone to do something like this nor what his specific motivations may have been. He never came across as religious or political.

'My family and I are still in shock by this news and my heart goes out to all of those who lost or had loved ones injured in this tragedy. I am at a loss for words.'

On the surface, Paddock didn't seem like a typical mass murderer, said Clint Van Zandt, a former FBI hostage negotiator and supervisor in the bureau's behavioral science unit. Paddock is much older than the typical shooter and was not known to be suffering from mental illness.

'My challenge is, I don't see any of the classic indicators, so far, that would suggest, 'OK, he's on the road either to suicide or homicide or both,' Van Zandt said.

Doctors have also spoken of the battle to see to the wounded during Sunday's carnage.

'I have no idea who I operated on,' said Dr. Jay Coates, a trauma surgeon whose hospital took in many of the wounded. 'They were coming in so fast, we were taking care of bodies. We were just trying to keep people from dying.'

As Sunday night led to Monday morning, the attack became the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history.

University Medical Center of Southern Nevada was one of many hospitals that were overflowing.

'Every bed was full,' Coates said. 'We had people in the hallways, people outside and more people coming in.'

He said the huge, horrifying wounds on his operating table that told him it wasn't just the massive numbers that made this shooting different.

'It was very clear that the first patient I took back and operated on that this was a high-powered weapon,' Coates said. 'This wasn't a normal street weapon. This was something that did a lot of damage when it entered the body cavity.'

He had seen similar wounds before but 'of course never this many patients,' he added.

President Donald Trump condemned the shooting as an 'act of pure evil'.

In a televised address from the White House, he said he would be visiting the city on Wednesday 'on a very, very sad moment for me ... for everybody no matter where you are, no matter what your thought process'.

In a slow and sombre statement, Mr Trump said the nation was 'joined together in sadness, shock and grief' but that the US would rally together.

'Our unity cannot be shattered by evil, our bonds cannot be broken by violence,' he said. 'We call upon the bonds that unite us: our faith, our family, and our shared values. We call upon the bonds of citizenship, the ties of community, and the comfort of our common humanity.'

UK Prime Minister Theresa May meanwhile, said she hasn't heard that any of the casualties were British.

She told told LBC radio: 'The latest I heard is that we don't yet know of any British casualties, although I think there were British people in the area, some of whom did manage to flee and weren't casualties.

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The Las Vegas strip pays tribute to the victims as appeals go out across the city for blood donors in the wake of the massacre at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival

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Richard Williams of Nevada smiles as United Blood Services phlebotomist Sha-Na Hill takes his blood at a special United Blood Services drive at a University Medical Center facility to help victims of the Las Vegas mass shooting

'We also know there were some British troops nearby who went in to help.

'The Foreign Office is continuing to work with the Las Vegas authorities to ensure that we know definitely.

'At the moment, I don't believe there were any British casualties, but there were certainly British people in the area who will have witnessed what was absolutely an appalling attack, completely senseless, random attack, by an individual who I understand had quite an arsenal of weapons in the hotel room.'

She added: 'I think we can't understand it because of course we have a different approach to guns. We have very strong gun laws here, and we tightened the gun laws initially after Dunblane because people saw the atrocity which took place there and we took action as a government.

'But of course America has a different approach to guns. It's up to them to see what they will do now, but I think most people in the UK will say, 'If you look at what's happened here, surely they will want to do something'.'

The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh both said they were 'saddened' to hear of the shooting.

In a message of condolence to US president Donald Trump, they described the atrocity as a 'terrible attack'.

The Queen's message said: 'Prince Philip and I were saddened to learn of the terrible attack in Las Vegas.

'Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families and those who have been injured.'